Douluo: Emerald Poison Emperor

"Humans, how dare you kill my kin?!" Accompanied by a furious roar, a massive Dark Gold Dreadclaw Bear swung its enormous claws, tearing apart the trees and blocking its path as it charged violently toward Chen Ming and his companions.

It was a gigantic Dark Gold Dreadclaw Bear, standing approximately 15 meters tall. Its dark gold fur radiated an extreme metallic aura. Its claws were extraordinarily large, each exceeding the length of its knees, approximately 10 meters long.

Where ordinary Dark Gold Dreadclaw Bears might sprint on all fours, this colossal creature could only move upright, resembling a giant ape.

"Bear Lord? Why is he here?" Golden Crocodile Douluo shielded Chen Ming and Lou Gao as he stared at the enormous beast. His eyes were filled with both vigilance and disbelief.

Though ferocious beasts had long since ceased to appear easily in this era, Golden Crocodile Douluo instantly recognized the identity of this massive soul beast based on the records within Spirit Hall.

A Dark Gold Dreadclaw Bear with cultivation of 480,000 to 490,000 years. The King of Bears. The strongest ruler of the Dark Gold Dreadclaw Bear clan is said to possess strength comparable to a Super Douluo.

Feeling the Bear King's overwhelming aura, cold sweat dripped from Golden Crocodile Douluo's forehead. He sensed that the Bear Lord's power was likely not inferior to his own—perhaps even slightly above.

Indeed, while the Bear Lord of this era had yet to reach 500,000 years of cultivation like its counterpart in the Douluo 3 era, the issue was that the soul masters of this time lacked the equipment of that era.

No dual soul cores, no battle armor, and spirit beast power—all of these factors meant that today's soul masters were far less powerful than those of the Douluo 3 era.

Golden Crocodile Douluo's current strength at rank 98 might have only been equivalent to a rank 97 soul master in the Peerless Tang Sect era. In the Dragon King Legend era, his power might even be comparable to a rank 95 soul master wearing three-word battle armor. Against the Bear Lord, this disparity was significant.

Not to mention Golden Crocodile Douluo—even if Qian Daoliu himself appeared, without using the Angelic Sacred Sword, he would still need to engage in a prolonged battle to defeat the Bear Lord.

Just the Bear Lord's roar had caused a massive disturbance in Lou Gao's previously stable soul ring absorption, nearly driving him into madness. Fortunately, Chen Ming reacted quickly, casting numerous buffs on Lou Gao and pulling him back into his soul tool, preventing him from losing control.

Looking at the corpse of the dead Dark Gold Dreadclaw Bear on the ground, Golden Crocodile Douluo and Chen Ming exchanged glances. Their soul power surged, and neither had any intention of continuing to battle the Bear Lord here. They immediately turned to leave the Star Dou Forest.

However, before they could get far, a sinister and eerie spiritual force enveloped them.

"Tree Eye Paralysis!"

A cold voice echoed as countless branches burst from the ground. Strange, eye-like structures grew on the branches, staring at Chen Ming and Golden Crocodile Douluo. The eerie spiritual force invaded their bodies, attempting to immobilize them.

"Scram!"

Chen Ming roared, unleashing his aura. His spiritual power surged, shattering the paralyzing spiritual skill. His right hand activated the second skill of the Dark Gold Dreadclaw, Rampage. Though it was a weakened version, it still severed the roots emerging from the ground.

"Hmph—"

The spirit skill was broken, and the mental backlash caused the Myriad Demon King, who had reverted to his original form, to let out a cold groan, his body trembling slightly. Yet despite the pain, the Myriad Demon King stretched his body as much as possible, blocking Chen Ming and Golden Crocodile Douluo's path.

The weakened Dark Gold Dreadclaw skill slashed out, but it only tore through a small portion of the branches. The gap was quickly filled by a continuous stream of emerging branches as if the entire world was enveloped in strange, sinister plants.

Taking advantage of the Myriad Demon King's delay, the Bear Lord, who lacked speed, caught up to them. Its massive claws swung down, releasing razor-sharp claw energy from its fingertips. Though not the Dark Gold Dreadclaw skill, its power surpassed that of a 50,000-year-old Dark Gold Dreadclaw Bear.

At this moment, Golden Crocodile Douluo no longer held back. His rank 98 aura erupted without reservation. His already large body swelled further, and his hands transformed into crocodilian claws as intense golden energy surged from them.

"Golden Claws!"

Golden Crocodile Douluo's fifth soul ring lit up. His hands radiated immense metallic power, countering the Bear Lord's claw energy before slashing toward the beast.

Yet, facing Golden Crocodile Douluo's fifth soul skill, the Bear Lord didn't even bother to dodge. It merely glared at the rank 9 red soul ring on Golden Crocodile Douluo's body.

Like a bubble crashing into a wall, the powerful fifth soul skill shattered instantly upon contact with the Bear Lord's dark gold body, barely managing to pull a few strands of fur from its chest without leaving any wounds.

The Bear Lord roared, its terrifying metallic energy transforming the sound into a destructive shockwave. Chen Ming was forced to summon an ice wall to shield himself and Golden Crocodile Douluo.

The enormous Dark Gold Dreadclaw Bear stood upright, while the sinister Demon-Eyed Tree swayed its branches. The two great ferocious beasts of the Star Dou Forest stared at Chen Ming and Golden Crocodile Douluo with malicious intent.

"Humans, you dared kill my kin—then stay and pay with your lives." The Bear Lord growled, though its gaze flickered to the Myriad Demon King with a hint of doubt.

Earlier, the Bear Lord had been slumbering at the bottom of the Lake of Life, only to be awakened by the Myriad Demon King, who informed him that his kin were being hunted.

Half-asleep, the Bear Lord hadn't wanted to get up and had considered letting the Myriad Demon King handle it. But the Myriad Demon King had told him that the culprits were a quasi-Soul Douluo led by a Super Douluo, the former possessing a full set of soul bones and capable of absorbing a 100,000-year soul ring.

The moment he heard this, the Bear Lord's first thought was that someone was after his 100,000-year-old kin again. Enraged, he charged out from the bottom of the lake, knocking down countless trees along the way, only to arrive and see the corpse of a mere 50,000-year-old kin. This left the Bear Lord slightly confused.

The Bear Lord wasn't heartless, just pragmatic. He had assumed it was one of his 100,000-year-old kin in danger, which was why he'd become so furious and rushed out of the lake.

But upon arrival, he found it was just a 50,000-year-old kin. His groggy mind couldn't help but freeze for a moment. Seeing the nine soul rings on Golden Crocodile Douluo, along with his rank 98 soul power, the Bear Lord began to feel doubts.

Something about this situation seemed off.

A 50,000-year-old kin hunted, the cold Myriad Demon King reporting it to him, and then encountering a rank 98 Titled Douluo from Spirit Hall with a full set of ten-thousand-year soul rings and bones?

While the Bear Lord's brain wasn't great for thinking, he wasn't entirely brainless. He looked at Golden Crocodile Douluo's reasonable soul rings, then at Chen Ming's completely unreasonable ones, and couldn't shake the feeling that the Myriad Demon King had set him up.

Thinking carefully, why would that treacherous Myriad Demon King suddenly show such concern?

Even when his own Demon-Eyed Tree clan members at the 40,000 or 50,000-year level were hunted, the Myriad Demon King didn't seem to care much. Why was he so invested today?